Your cooking advice for my home improvement advice. Im a moron in the kitchen, but I gained $50,000 in sweat equity on my home in a declining real estate market with ease and very little invested in only three months. I grew up in foster homes, moving from home to home my whole life so cooking and family weren't something I was exposed to. As I said in my first post, I can't even cook an egg. Problem is, I have two kids and eating out every night sucks up that $50,000 we made faster than you would believe. Not only do I need help with cooking, I need help with shopping and preparing. I need to be taught like I'm 8 years old.

thanks for your vote of confidence, I wish I was that confident in myself. Actually, I'm getting better already, I just never realized how much work things were that don't come in packages. Obviously, the cooking is easy and demands little attention, but the prep takes forever and I feel like I do a million dishes.

So far since these posts, I've made tuna casserole, stuffed peppers, Chinese beef and broccoli, and a pasta salad all with positive feedback and without all the sodium that packaged food usually has. I cant say it was cheaper than eating out though. Theres like a million different spices out there and these things run sometimes 8 bucks each, times 3 spices often, theyre like a mini investment!

Penzy's is a good source for fresh and affordable spices. You can get them in bags, saves on the cost. (online)
I admire your efforts here! To my mind the secret to good cooking is to pay attention. Experiment, fail, learn. I have made some great dishes, and some REALLY REALLY awful ones, so bad all I could do is laugh and throw it away. I am famous for my "fish frappe", a concoction I made trying to reproduce a tamara salata that we used to get at a greek restaurant. It was miserably vile, and I am still remembered for it. Though now I know how to make a good tamara salata.
It's not just about saving money on food, it's about teaching your kids to cook, to eat, and giving them good nutrition. It's also about teaching them to learn, and to tackle new tasks. And spending time with them.
Thats my Hallmark moment for today.